Book Review - The Vampire's Mail Order Bride by Kristen Painter

The Vampire's Mail Order Bride by Kristen Painter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Synopsis: Welcome to Nocturne Falls, the town where Halloween is celebrated 365 days a year. The tourists think it's all a show: the vampires, the werewolves, the witches, the occasional gargoyle flying through the sky. But the supernaturals populating the town know better.

Living in Nocturne Falls means being yourself. Fangs, fur, and all.

After seeing her maybe-mobster boss murder a guy, Delaney James assumes a new identity and pretends to be a mail order bride. She finds her groom-to-be living in a town that celebrates Halloween every day. Weird. But not as weird as what she doesn’t know. Her groom-to-be is a 400-year-old vampire.

Hugh Ellingham has only agreed to the arranged set up to make his overbearing grandmother happy. In thirty days, whatever bridezilla shows up at his door will be escorted right back out. His past means love is no longer an option. Not if the woman’s going to have a future. Except he never counted on Delaney and falling in love for real.

Too bad both of them are keeping some mighty big secrets...

My Thoughts: This has been one of the cutest reads I think I have read this year! I ate it up in a few sittings and it was just the kind of story I needed after reading so much other heavier books. Just a nice, fluffy, and fun read.

I loved the idea of a town celebrating Halloween all year long as it is one of my favorite times of the year and every time Delaney called her chubby cats name "Captain Underpants" I would totally lose it! I enjoyed following along as Delaney and Hugh fell for each other even if it was a bit quick but then again everything had to move along quickly in their situation. Hugh was quite dreamy when he wasn't acting like a monkey's behind but he thought he had a good reason to act that way so anyhow one of my favorite quotes from the story was...

"I never knew I was the kind of girl who went in for the whole vampire thing until I had one of my very own."

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Book Review/Giveaway - Like A Lily Among The Thorns by Karen S Bell

Like a Lily Among the Thorns

by Karen S. Bell

 

 

GENRE:   Cli-fi, șpec. fiction, fantasy

BLURB:

 

There are those who are born into loving families and then there are the less fortunate who must forge their own families through strong friendships. At a local small library in New York City, one such family was born. And just like so many capricious happenstances in life, this family unit embraced newcomers and grew exponentially. But this clan was also charged with far more than spreading love and joy and a sense of belonging. This clan was formed by divine Providence to help save the planet.

Gabrielle Bernstein, the MC of Like a Lily Among the Thorns, is a woman in her twenties and has started her career as a librarian at a NYC public library. Abandoned by her father as a young girl and now orphaned by her deranged mother, Gabby longs for a family connection. Coincidentally, she finds this connection at the same time she inherits a B&B in Vermont from her estranged and now deceased father. This enchanted inn is under the watchful eye of goddesses of myth and legend who have been tasked to save mankind from destroying itself and this planet. These goddesses will use their powers to try and stall the onslaught of the effects of droughts, floods, and rising temperatures. But as a safety net they have collected human saviors all over the planet to erect safe havens at high altitudes away from flood waters and blistering temperatures.

This one group of saviors are ordinary people who have some extraordinary abilities and enjoy a higher consciousness. They are brought together to join forces in Vermont to create one such refuge. Along the way there is romance, misunderstandings, conflict, and internal growth. Locations are Manhattan, London, Brooklyn, and Rutland, Vermont. Woven through this tale is Gabrielle’s inherent understanding that she must be grateful, mindful, and present in this journey called “life.”  

The impending devastation that will be brought about by the effects of global climate change is the underpinning of this Cli-Fi/speculative fiction novel. Like a Lily Among the Thorns  focuses on how this potential disaster will have dire consequences for us all and is currently becoming more top of mind as people are waking up to strange weather events such as the scorching temperatures that have gripped the Northwestern states and torrential rains in the Northeast.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Excerpt:

 

Sometimes a major change in one’s life comes on the heels of ordinary events. A dinner invitation and cab ride can be more than transportation from here to there for food. The Countess would become a very important addition in Gabby’s life but as of right now, none of them knew that, particularly, the Countess. Frozen in place while staring at the luxury townhouse, Gabby was caught up short. Reality had suddenly become fluid, become a changeling, a stranger in the night. The hours she had spent imagining the Countess’s life as a Hollywood starlet or Gatsby character now converged with the truth of her circumstances. It was hard to digest this shift in perspective when everyone at the library remained unenlightened and still believed the Countess was a brave woman struggling to make ends meet just to get by. The bombardment of the truth was too much to absorb right now, especially when her own life was in such flux. She also did not want to think of how this information revealed the Countess’s damning deception, her dis-ingenuousness to everyone. It was a mind-numbing disappointment, a gut punch that made her feel off balance.

           

Everything was suddenly out of step and off-kilter. Too much random noise was being thrown at her by the cosmos, a shock to the senses. In just one day, today, to be exact, she had been notified that her apartment building was being demolished, her friends at the coffee shop, albeit not close, would be summarily swallowed up by the cavernous city as they dispersed, and now this…this unexpected truth of the Countess’s financial situation.

 

My Thoughts:  I so enjoyed reading about Gabby as I could relate to her character so much. I could see so much of myself in her.... the depression and the seemingly daily mishaps, even her mantra of things could always be worse sounded like the author had plucked me up and tossed me inside her book. A quick pick me up read!

 

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

All my work is inspired by social issues to which we all can relate. Work/ life stresses, the loss of a spouse and how marriage can sometimes swallow a woman’s identity, and the prevalence of greed in modern society.

Walking with Elephants is my first novel, although I am not new to writing. I was a theater critic and celebrity interviewer for a weekly tabloid in Jacksonville, Fl and I earned a Master’s in Mass Communication from Oklahoma State University. For 15 years I worked in Corporate America as a technical editor/editor/writer. I experienced first hand the politics and intrigue that goes with that territory and the balancing act that comes with being a working mother. I salute all those mothers who are the glue that holds their families together while pursuing the nine to five brass ring and were the inspiration for this work. Audible book is available and narrated by me.

With my second novel, Sunspots, I continue to be in awe of the magical and wondrous phenomenon called life. As an observer and obvious participant in feminine values and approach to our human challenges, I bring this perspective to my work. Fascinated by the mysteries of the unseen forces that perhaps play a role in guiding our choices, I search for answers in the mundane as well as in the cosmic forces that surround us.

Alexa’s pact with the Devil in When a Stranger Comes…is an allegory for the evil lurking in our midst. The social decay of modern society with its excessive greed, the ignorance of our political leaders, and our indifference toward the survival of all species from the effects of climate change, among other environmental pressures, are perhaps brought forth by the darkest forces of human nature. The audible book narrated by me is in production.

The genre of magical realism appeals to me and all my work has elements woven in. My current project is focused on a Bed and Breakfast that becomes a safe haven from the effects of climate change while celebrating the Feminine Divine and is set squarely in that realm.

I am working on my next novel in Ponte Vedra, Fl. where I live with my husband and our two furry kids. Our human kids have flown the nest and are scattered far and wide, alas.

https://karensbell.com

https://twitter.com/karensuebell

https://www.facebook.com/ksbwwe

 

Buy:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09V3FNTCT

 

 

Karen S. Bell will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review/Giveaway - The Nexus Games by Shami Stovall

The Nexus Game

by Shami Stovall

 

GENRE: Fantasy

 

 

BLURB:

 

Special Forces Soldier Alex Kellan has three problems. He’s on forced medical leave, he’s alone on Christmas, and two men are actively stalking his every step.

 

Things get worse when Kellan wakes up in a twisted world where people have magical abilities and high-tech weaponry. It turns out, Kellan’s stalkers want him to participate in a deadly competition—whether or not Kellan agrees.

 

Forced to compete in the infamous Nexus Games, Kellan must risk everything to survive the competition and save the other members of his ragtag team. Their new motto quickly becomes: Situation Normal: All Fouled Up.

 

A litRPG thriller with high-tech magic, set in a game for the ultimate prize.

 

 

Excerpt:

Kellan unlocked his apartment with a quick click.  

He stepped into his 700-square-foot abode and then hung his keys on the ring by the door. The sterile living room, complete with one couch, a lonely TV, and a cheap coffee table, had all the welcoming charm of a motel lobby. No pictures hung on the walls, no plants filled the corners. Everything was neat, but everything amounted to three plates and a fork stacked in the attached kitchen sink.           

Mavis followed Kellan inside and took note of the surroundings. She walked, scanning every inch, until she stopped behind the dusty couch.         

“Quaint,” she said.         

“Thank you. I decorated it myself.”           

Mavis pointed to the dark-green suede couch, the off-white coffee table, and then to the black flat-screen television. “I see you have an eye for cohesion.”          

“What can I say? I don’t like to discriminate. All colors are equal.”           

Again, Mavis snorted and laughed.           

Kellan peeled off his wet sweatshirt and shoulder holster, tossing both onto the kitchen counter. Mavis followed suit and removed her own sweatshirt. She had changed her outfit after work. As a bartender she wore form-fitting jeans and a black T-shirt. As a civilian, she wore a pair of low-riding cargo pants and plain gray T-shirt.           

Not much of a difference.           

He understood why the tips would be higher in her bartending outfit, but he also understood the need to be comfortable. Women’s clothing baffled Kellan from time to time. He had seen torture techniques less sadistic than some fashionable high-heels, and he appreciated the fact Mavis wore a practical pair of black flat top shoes.          

She gestured to the walls. “No pictures?”          

“Nope.”          

“None? Why not pictures of your family? Your mother and father?”           

“I thought it would be depressing to have pictures of tombstones on the wall.” It was a dark joke, but Kellan couldn’t take it back now that he had said it. With a chuckle, he tried to play it off.

 

My Thoughts: Even though I'm not a big fantasy reader I like to step outside my comfort zone from time to time and see what happens. While I wasn't blown away with The Nexus Games I still enjoyed reading this book because it reminded me so much of The Hunger Games which I loved very much. The world was awesome and actually my only real issue with it was the length at almost 600 pages and it took so long for the real action to get started.

 

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Shami Stovall is a multi-award-winning author of fantasy and science fiction. Before that, she taught history and criminal law at the college level, and loved every second. When she’s not reading fascinating articles and books about ancient China or the Byzantine Empire, Stovall can be found playing way too many video games, especially RPGs and tactics simulators, or hugging John.

 

If you want to contact her, you can do so at the following locations:

 

Website: https://sastovallauthor.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GameOverStation/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SAStovall/

Email: s.adelle.s@gmail.com

 

 

Shami Stovall will be awarding a $25 Amazon or BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

 

RAFFLECOPTER:

 

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